Posts Tagged ‘legislation’

There is an important role for occupational therapists in providing more reablement and rehabilitative services to local authorities, to ensure that clients do not find themselves marooned in hospital wards and longer term residential care.

A key part of this was to provide extend reablement or rehabilitative support …

“…to help with the transition back home after a hospital stay, a residential care stay, or simply a fall or accident…” Source

The immediate political storm revolved around funding and the view held by many that this was cynical political grandstanding. Regardless of the politics, reablement at home will be appropriate in many situations.

It has to be unattractive that an admission to hospital for a minor issue results in a client not being discharged just because of a lack of rehabilitative care. To appease the political wing, this is also likely to be uneconomical.

Some of the immediate criticism of the Personal Care at Home Bill was wide of the mark. This letter in The Times, for example, states that

“Two, three, or even four hours of care a day does not help someone living with a neurodegenerative disease, who is immobile and has other serious health needs. Only 24/7 care can provide this.” Source

That is, I believe, an extreme position and therefore a false argument to set up. It does not disprove a role for reabling work. It simply states the obvious that it would not be adequate for that particular client.

The feverish political baying that surrounds any health care announcement in the run up to an election should not drown out the substantive debate.

How can the occupational therapy sector facilitate reablement, for example after a hospital visit, using the skills they already have in rehabilitation, adaptive technology, seating, gait and the like?